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Professor Michael Barnes, MD FRCP, Clinical Director
Professor Barnes MD FRCP is a leading clinical neurologist and consultant in rehabilitation medicine. He is the Honorary Professor of Neurological Rehabilitation at the University of Newcastle, Founder and President of the World Federation of Neurological Rehabilitation and past President of the British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine and was elected to the membership of the European Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine. He has also served as the chief executive of several NHS organisations and is considered to be a leading world authority in neurological rehabilitation.
Professor Barnes co-authored the All-Party Parliamentary Group report on the evidence for medical cannabis as part of its Drug Policy Reform, working with the Irish Parliament on the medical cannabis debate through discussion and lectures.
He has spoken at multiple conferences and forums (including medical conferences and parliamentary meetings) on the topic, is a supporter of End Our Pain, the campaign for medical cannabis law change, and is also a Trustee of medical cannabis law reform organisation CLEAR, and the patient medical cannabis campaign group United Patients Alliance. As the first UK doctor to successfully negotiate a prescription for medical cannabis from the government (in the case of Alfie Dingley), Professor Barnes is recognised as a powerful and influential voice in medical cannabis policy in Europe.
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Dr. Eliezar Okirie, Neurological Rehabilitation Specialist
Dr Elie Okirie has over 30 years of experience as a doctor and for the last two decades, he has focussed entirely on the rehabilitation of people with severe and complex disabilities, particularly brain injury (traumatic and vascular including stroke), post-concussion injury, spinal injury and long-term neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and neuromuscular disorders.
Dr Okirie’s practice looks at the assessment of disability, the determination of therapy requirements, patient-centred goal planning and rehabilitation. His work includes the assessment of care needs, advice on employment, leisure, and social prospects for disabled persons.
Dr Okirie is currently the Clinical Director and Consultant in Neurological and Specialist Rehabilitation at the Central England Rehabilitation Unit (CERU), Leamington Spa Hospital an NHS-E level-1 specialised rehabilitation service. He divides his time between CERU and University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire undertaking major trauma work for patients requiring hyper-acute and post-acute rehabilitation management.
He is also Medical Director at Hunters Moor Neuro Rehabilitation Centre Birmingham and Consultant to the British Horseracing Authority for post-concussion medical examinations. His memberships include Fellow at the Royal College of Physicians of London, Fellow at the European Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine and Member of the World Federation for NeuroRehabilitation.
“In my practice, I see patients who are very disabled, who may have tried different treatments from acute specialists over many years. They are trying to live a normal life and make sense of everyday living with their condition, yet they are living with chronic pain. They don’t sleep well at night, they have spasms and spasticity, and they suffer all the complications that come with their condition. They are hugely impacted by the opioid medication they are being prescribed, but still, their symptoms are not being alleviated.
Exploring the benefits of medical cannabis is the right thing to do. From my perspective, I see the evidence in respect of cannabis as a treatment, and how the endocannabinoid system responds to it. It’s one more thing in the armoury of treatment options we can try for patients suffering intractable, long-term disabilities and disabling conditions.”
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Dr. Elizabeth Iveson, Neurological Complex Care Specialist
Dr Elizabeth Iveson MBCHB, FRCP UK is a Consultant Physician working within the NHS and Private sector. She was appointed as a Consultant Stroke (all ages) and Elderly Care Physician at York Hospital in November 2006. Dr Iveson is the Elderly Medicine Lead for the York Integrated Complex Care Team.
Dr Iveson’s interests and expertise include all aspects of stroke care, neurorehabilitation and looking at the patient as a whole. She is experienced in the management of post-stroke complications and multiple other comorbidities such as fatigue, spasticity, continence, depression and pain. She has cared for patients of all ages with complex physical and cognitive problems and is skilled in the care of patients with complex and multidisciplinary needs. She is passionate about delivering high-quality specialist holistic care.
Dr Iveson has been actively involved in clinical research for many years. She was the Regional Lead for Stroke in the Yorkshire and Humber Combined Local Research Network. She is an Honorary Lecturer for Hull and East Yorkshire Medical School and teaches medical students regularly.
Dr Iveson was elected as a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in 2000 and is a member of the British Associate of Stroke Physicians, British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine, British Geriatric Society and the World Federation for Neurorehabilitation Organisation.
“In my practice, I support complex care patients who manage multiple symptoms at the same time. Over recent years, I’ve worked with patients living with chronic pain, sleeping problems, anxiety, mood disorders and those on a palliative care pathway. They are often taking a huge number of medications which are not alleviating their symptoms, and often come with undesirable side effects.
If regulated, prescribed, safe medical cannabis could help my patients who are living with intractable pain, and suffering a really poor quality of life, then clinically, it’s the right thing to try. My passion comes from this clinical evidence base – it could help people, it could really change people’s lives. I’m so keen to contribute to opening up the market for medical cannabis for everyone in the UK who could benefit from it, by promoting education and by being part of developing the research and evidence base.”
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Dr. Rebecca Moore, Psychiatrist
Dr Rebecca Moore is a consultant psychiatrist with over twenty years of experience working in London in the NHS and private sector. Most recently, she worked for the South London and the Maudsley NHS Trust at St Thomas’ Hospital, caring for women in pregnancy and in the postnatal period.
She has a special interest in trauma and PTSD along with anxiety and mood disorders. Dr Moore believes it is vital to work collaboratively with patients and to draw up holistic plans for their care.
She is training with the Institute of Functional Medicine and uses diet, exercise and supplementation as first-line tools in her treatment.
Dr Moore was a Winston Churchill Fellow in 2017 and travelled to Stanford University where she first became interested in the use of cannabis in mental health. She uses CBD and cannabis with patients and considers it an effective treatment for insomnia, anxiety and low mood.
Dr Moore is the co-founder of Make Birth Better, a national campaign seeking to reduce trauma in childbirth. She hosts an annual birth trauma conference in London and writes and broadcasts regularly.
“I work in a holistic way as a psychiatrist and this has to look at all the choices available for patients. In my work I see patients with trauma, PTSD, OCD, Depression and Anxiety. My patients often have a long history and complex symptoms – I owe it to them to be totally open to all options for prescribing and treatments.Many of my patients already using CBD in different forms, or are buying street cannabis to manage their symptoms. These are products that might not be safe, and are not quality approved. There are high-quality treatments available, and I want my patients to be able to access these safe and regulated medications.
I want people to have the best treatment options – quality, regulated and safe medical cannabis, on prescription. I don’t want people to be at risk from purchasing illegal cannabis or from unregulated CBD products. I want to ensure everyone who could benefit from medical cannabis has the ability to access it safely.”
